Finding Ground
by Silver Shiori
Summary: Finding themselves with the looming prospect of the battle that will end it all...


**Finding Ground**

Disclaimer: Here's a prospect: I don't own, so you don't sue. Not a bad deal,no?

Summary: The gang before (and after) a huge battle with Naraku. Not the final battle, but one that the outcome of it will play a huge part in that final one. Every person, every emotion, every dream...

Parings: Inu/Kag, San/Miroku, Sess/Kagura, Koga/OC

Author's note: This fanfic is probably one of the fics of mine that I'm trying out some new writing style I learned recently. Let me know how it works out!

**Prologue-- Discovery**

"How long does it take for you to chew that?" InuYasha said gruffly, shifting his sword from one shoulder to the other.

"What my fellow companion means is that we would like to hear the rest of your tale," Miroku said to the person eating, and then shot a quick glance at InuYasha.

The boy who sat across from Miroku hastily swallowed, and nearly choked. Kagome neatly passed him his cup, and the boy thanked her with a wide smile. She smiled back, as well. InuYasha snorted.

Once the boy had regained the use of his throat, he cleared it and continued his tale. Some days ago, a rather abnormal cloud formation had passed over his home village and laid rest over a rather large stretch of land. It changed the color of the sky around it, and cast its long shadow over much of the surrounding land, including the village. Without the sunlight, food could not grow, and fire couldn't be wasted. When the cloud didn't leave, despite all attempts by monks and priestesses, they had sent out messengers to seek help.

"And when I heard there was a small group of demon exterminators resting in this village, I came without hesitation." He concluded, giving a small nod to the group. "I now ask again for your assistance."

"You did the right thing." Sango said from the other corner of the room, stroking her demon cat Kirara, who was snoozing on her lap.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say we will most definitely look into this most serious matter." Miroku straightened with his staff in his hand.

"I'm afraid our village will not have payment for you, only our deepest gratitude," The small, skinny boy bowed.

"That's fine." Kagome said.

"Payment does not concern us. We aid others out of the pureness of our souls," Miroku stated, firmly ignoring the disagreeing snorts from two people who knew that wasn't exactly the case where he was concerned.

"We'll arrive at your village sometime tomorrow," Kagome said cheerfully, and then her eyes grew worried. "How is your wound now?"

"Fine, Lady Kagome. Your healing powers are great," The boy then smiled, stood and crossed the room to the entrance of the hut. "Thank you all."

"Take care," Sango said, and the boy was gone.

The fire flickered in silence for a bit, and the small group in the hut stared at it.

"That confirms it then," Miroku said, breaking the silence. "The huge demonic aura we sensed...it's here."

"Yes..." Sango started, and then finished hesitantly. "But is it Naraku?"

"Tomorrow morning, we'll find out." Kagome said, and taking a small bucket, neatly doused the fire.

"Aye, you demon-slayers...This way," a gruff village man gestured while on top of a horse. He began to ride off, the group following on their own.

"InuYasha, I don't think there are any Shikon shards anywhere near here." Kagome said, behind InuYasha, Shippo on her shoulder.

"The demonic aura couldn't get stronger though," InuYasha raised his head and gave a half-hearted sniff, as though not wanting to take in more of the aura. He gave the reins a shake and urged the horse over a rough patch.

A few paces back, Sango and Miroku, each on their own respective horses, mulled over other possibilities. Naraku was definitely the worst-case issue, and if it wasn't, then it was definitely a strong demon. A battle either way.

They didn't have to look at their surroundings to know they were at the right location. The horses stamped impatiently, and the aura surrounded them.

"This is where I leave ye," Their escort took off, fleeing fast.

"Alright then," InuYasha dismounted, and then helped Kagome off. Their horse chose to follow the other, followed by the two Sango and Miroku had stepped off of.

"We can walk back then," Miroku said, his eyes trained on the sky.

"What's our first step?" Kagome asked, reaching back and feeling the feathered end of an arrow.

"Sense any shards?" InuYasha asked.

Kagome took a deep breath, and felt the faint tingling of one. It felt so far away, if she hadn't stopped breathing, she wouldn't have felt it.

"InuYasha, it's so faint…" Kagome said softly, as if the effort was too much… Spots appeared to dance in front of her, and her legs began to collapse.

InuYasha caught Kagome and brought her back to her feet.

"Kagome…What's wrong?" He asked pure concern in his voice.

Kagome shook her head, as if to clear it. "It's so…strange…The shard isn't pure…yet…"

Sango looked up at the sky. It was churning faster than ever, and left many concerns in the experienced demon-slayer's mind. Her pony-tailed dark hair flew in all directions, as the wind picked up as well.

InuYasha's hand disappeared from Kagome's side, and went for the sheath of his sword. He didn't unsheathe it, but instead looked at Miroku.

"How are we going to attack this?" He said seriously. Asking group members for strategy was not like InuYasha, so Miroku knew something was brushing the wrong way with the half-demon.

"I'm not sure, InuYasha…The only enemy we are facing right now is that cloud. Whether or not something is hidden in it is another matter…" Miroku brushed the stray hair from his face.

"There's something hidden in it…otherwise the aura and this awful scent wouldn't be here as well." InuYasha unsheathed his sword and let it expand to its large form.

"Come out!" He yelled at the whirling cloud. "We know you are in there, Naraku!"

The name froze everyone in their tracks. It was Naraku. He was in the swirling mass of purple clouds above them, prone to attack them at any time. Sango, Miroku, Kagome and Shippo found themselves spreading out to their normal formation around InuYasha, with their eyes trained on parts of the distorted sky.

There was no response to InuYasha's statement, so naturally InuYasha repeated his statement again, this time more loudly and a tad more rudely.

This time, a sinister laugh broke through the churning mass. There was no need to confirm just who it was with the group; everyone knew perfectly well just who was above them and didn't need to be reminded.

"InuYasha…It didn't take you as long as I thought it would to bring you here. Well done, record time…" the bodiless voice echoed down to the ground.

"Naraku, I'll say it again…GET OUT OF THE CLOUD AND FACE US!" InuYasha leaped up and swiped at a small bit of cloud, to no avail.

When InuYasha had landed on the ground again, Naraku's smooth, evil voice spoke again.

"InuYasha, such impatience you have! Don't worry, I will descend from this cloud…in due time… For now…prepare yourselves, for I will be stronger than ever before!"

The silence that followed meant that the small conversation was over, and that nothing else could be done at the moment, for if Naraku kept his intentions, the main event would be another day. Another day, and another time for the oncoming problem.

"Damn," came InuYasha's voice as he sheathed his sword.

"Do we wait, then?" Sango asked, her eyes never leaving the sky.

"We don't have much choice in the matter…but Kagome…" Miroku turned around, and when he saw Kagome, he rushed over.

"I'm fine…" Kagome said hoarsely, clutching Kirara in order to stand. Kirara was looking concerned at Kagome, and attempting in the best way to help.

InuYasha was immediately there, and helped ease her onto Kirara.

"It's that shard isn't it?" Sango said, hopping onto Kirara beside her friend, Shippo not far behind. "We better get her back to the village."

"Hang on Kagome!" Shippo said, clinging to Kagome's sleeve as Kagome's eyelids flickered.

Without further hesitation, Kirara was in the air, heading towards the village.

InuYasha stared after the retreating Kirara, then towards the mottled purple sky. Something was wrong, and it wasn't just affecting his demon self. Kagome was feeling the effects of it as well, and the other three weren't that exempt either. Naraku was brewing something up in that damn cloud of his…and it wasn't soup.

"InuYasha, shall we be heading back to the village as well? I assume you want to be attending to Kagome, and I think I have a few questions for the head of the village." Miroku asked.

"Let's go," InuYasha said, and took off, Miroku right on his heels.

Arriving at the village, InuYasha took up guard post at Kagome's hut, and Miroku and Sango took a meeting with the village head, explaining the mysterious cloud as a particularly strong demon with a grudge against their group of slayers, no direct mention of Naraku. Most reluctantly mentioned was the postponed battle.

"Should we evacuate the village, honorable monk?" The village head asked anxiously.

"If the worst does come, I would suggest so without hesitation. However, it is still unsure at this moment." Miroku answered.

"It is still possibly very dangerous, though?" The village head asked again.

"Yes. Very dangerous." Miroku nodded, and then turned to the headman's daughters, all anxiously whispering behind their father. "If need be, I can come by again tonight and reassure you all if you cannot rest…"

"I'm sure that you will sleep quite well tonight, if you don't dwell too hard on the subject," Sango said, with a tad of coldness which disappeared with a smile as she said, "We assure you we are well-equipped to deal with the situation, and will protect your village at all costs."

The village headman then dismissed them with well-wishes. Miroku sighed as he stepped out into the night air.

"We do have to focus on the dilemma at hand, Miroku," Sango said, in her short, clipped voice she used whenever she was slightly annoyed with his ways.

"I know we do, but I fear that our attempts will once again find other human lives dragged into this ongoing battle with Naraku." Miroku looked up at the sky. "Sango, how long have we known each other?"

This caught Sango off guard a bit. What did he mean by that? What did he want from her?

"I'm not sure, Miroku…I haven't really…" she stammered, hoping her face wasn't blossoming deep red.

"Even so…it's been quite a while, right?" Miroku turned to smile at her, and then glanced back at the sky, unmarred by the dark purple. "I just wanted to say…as long as I've known you and fought alongside you and the others…I have never felt Naraku this strong."

Sango found herself staring out at the sky as well, as she thought that over. He was right. Naraku had definitely planned something using more than just his normal scheming underhanded ways.

"I fear that…that…maybe this is the one…" Miroku sounded a little timid, and his voice dropped the confidence and knowledge he normally carried.

"You mean…this is the one battle that will…" Sango found herself clenching her fists, and quickly hid them.

"Yes, Sango," Miroku said, then added quickly. "It's just my feeling; however, it doesn't mean anything,"

"Miroku," Sango said. "As long as I've known you and fought alongside you…I've known your feelings to be reasonably accurate. Now, let's go check on Kagome."

Kagome's condition hadn't changed much, as Shippo informed Sango and Miroku as soon as they stepped into the hut. Kirara meowed softly as Kagome let out a small moan, obviously indicating pain. InuYasha looked down at Kagome from his side of the bed, and readjusted the cloth on her forehead, his clawed hands leaving her forehead a little slower. He then stood, and left the hut. Miroku followed.

"InuYasha, did Kagome say anything about that shard while she was awake?" Miroku asked.

"No, she just mumbled…I couldn't make any of it out though. How was the meeting with the headman?" InuYasha asked back, arms crossed.

"The best it could have been." Miroku sighed, switching his staff from one hand to the other.

"Naraku's cloud is miles away from this village. We were forced to use horses to get over the already tough terrain. I don't think any battle would affect this village that much." InuYasha stated, amber eyes floating around his surroundings.

"You may be right, but necessary precautions must be taken," Miroku said. "If one of his minions decides to visit in our absence, then…"

InuYasha remained silent, arms still folded.

"As well, if he's stronger and if he's done something to the shards…that adds on to our many burdens," Miroku made circles in the ground with his staff. "Not to mention that if Kagome doesn't heal before the battle, and we can't go in without her sacred powers…that's for sure."

InuYasha gave a small start and Miroku nearly jumped back in surprise. Had he touched a nerve?

"Listen Miroku, I don't care if Naraku is stronger or not. I don't care whether or not he's done something with the shards. What I do care about is that Kagome is going to be affected, badly, if she keeps her shards. If anyone in this group touches the shards, they'll be affected, whether me, you or Sango." InuYasha unfolded his arms and stared at Miroku.

"So…we need to get rid of the shards…" Miroku closed his eyes. "How?"

"Tomorrow I'll take Kagome to her world, whether healed or not, and she'll give them to whoever she feels she can trust. Can you handle Naraku without us, if he does decide to attack?"

Miroku gave a nod. "Just…hurry back then."

InuYasha then brushed past Miroku into the hut, leaving Miroku to the stars and his troubled thoughts.

**Well, there you have it. The prologue of Finding Ground, for all to see. First chapter will be up as soon as possible, so please keep checking back if you would like to read more. This chapter AND the Sango/Miroku fluff in it is dedicated to _mirokusgurl_, my friend… Please check out her fic and review please! (For both mine and hers!) Till next time!**


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